AirSpaceMag.com

Cracking down on "laser losers"

The advent of cheap, powerful hand-held lasers has become a real problem for aviation

The advent of cheap, powerful hand-held lasers has become a real problem for aviation, with

daily reports of pranksters (or, according to various headlines, "thugs," "idiots" and "laser losers") shining laser penlights into cockpits and temporarily blinding pilots. The number of incidents is on the rise, with 148 such attacks reported in the U.S. in just the first two months of 2009, according to the FAA—an average of 2.7 incidents a day. For some reason, there have been more attacks in the Western states: San Jose, California, has had a particular problem.